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Holy Door

Following the closure of the Jubilee of Mercy, the Holy Doors in the Holy Land's most sacred sites will be closed on December 3 and 9. The Apostolic Administrator of Jerusalem speaks of the effects of the Holy Year of Mercy in the divided land.

(Vatican Radio) On the 20th of December 2016 Pope Francis is set to close the 'Holy Door' of Saint Peter’s Basilica with its 16 bronze panels originally cast for the Jubilee Year of 1950 by the 'Ferdinando Marinelli artistic foundry' based in Florence.

Sunday 13 November saw the celebration of special Masses in churches and basilicas across the world – as well as in three of Rome’s Papal Basilicas – which included the solemn rite of the closing of the Holy Doors.

A Vatican repoort indicates more than 15 million pilgrims have crossed the Holy Door of St. Peter’s Basilica during the Jubilee Year of Mercy. In an interview, Fr. Eugene Sylva of the Pontifical Council for the Promotion of the New Evangelization attributes the numbers to 'the power of mercy'